A perfectly well-timed parry with a hard swing also gives you a dodge window bonus that allows you to evade other attacks in combat

Shield mechanic

With a shield you’ll be able to block/parry, attack and bash to push back enemies.

Block by holding the shield in front of you

The longer your hold, more damage will be blocked for each incoming attack

You can also use your shield as a weapon to bash and push back enemies

Also, you can parry with your shield, though it’ll be harder to pull off

Moving System

In our movement system, player locomotion is handled incrementally like steps to avoid motion sickness. We found this a lot more comfortable than sliding.

You can move by simply holding your weapon in the desired direction and click the move button

In our game, weapons have weight and can change your movement speed. For example, a dagger may allow you to move faster than an axe.

When you have a magical weapon, such as a staff or wand, you can move by using the teleport feature. This is a good way to travel long distances and avoid difficult terrain and traps.

Conclusion

So, how does this all come together? With this combat system, we are able to design unique and fun weapon mechanics.

For example, we wanted to make the dagger, a short range weapon with obvious short-comings, fun to use and fit both the thief and mage themes well

Our design:

The dagger is designed with higher movement speed, allowing the player to move in and out of combat quickly

It follows a high risk, high reward design

Hits give a short dodge window, as well as a higher physics based damage bonus

The added movement bonus allows you to physically dodge enemy attacks in a pinch

The dagger does have its weakness, it has a lower base damage and relies on speed and execution for a higher damage output. It also has a much lower defense rating, making attacks and perfect parries its most viable defensive option

These mechanics builds into the theme of daggers being a great tool for fighting one on one combat, small groups of monsters and a fun, high skill, and risk-reward option against bosses

It’s design also adds to the melee fighter’s toolkit for those looking to use it for its dodge capabilities and movement bonuses